Nigeria Technology Blog

Compass for Blackberry z10, q10 and Other BB 10 Phones

The Blackberry 10 phones are preloaded with the compass app. So, no need googling Compass for Blackberry z10, q10 etc. The digital compass on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone works like a regular compass, but also includes additional features. For example, you can choose whether the compass points to true north or magnetic north. The compass also works in any direction or orientation, including upside down (try it!).

Here’s a quick overview of how to use the compass.

True North or Magnetic North?

When you open the compass, you can choose to navigate based on either true north or magnetic north. Magnetic north, which is what a standard compass points to, can be influenced by several factors and is not constant. True north, or geographical north, is what you would see on a paper map and is constant. If you would prefer to navigate based on true north (for example, if you are using your compass to follow a map) you must turn on location based services.

To select a navigation method while using the compass app, do one the following:

To navigate using true north, towards the bottom of the screen, set the switch to On.
To navigate using magnetic north, towards the bottom of the screen, set the switch to Off.

Troubleshooting & Interference

If the compass doesn’t point north, ensure your smartphone isn’t near any metal objects such as magnets or electronics.
If you are shown a button that says Interference, as per the following screenshot, move your smartphone away from metal objects and proceed to flip and tilt the smartphone until the interference screen disappears.

In order to navigate using true north, location-based services must be enabled on your smartphone. To enable location-based services if this option has been turned off previously, tap Settings on your Home screen followed by Location Based Services, and set the Location Services switch to On.

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